A 24-year-old Hyattsville man has facing federal charges in connection to helping ISIL with a plan to attack a U.S. military member.

Nelash Mohamed Das, a citizen of Bangladesh who lived in Hyattsville, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with trying to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization, in connection with a plan to attack a U.S. military member.

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Das, who had an initial court appearance Monday, was ordered to be detained pending a detention hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday.

"Our goal is to catch dangerous suspects before they strike, while respecting constitutional rights," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said. "That is what the American people expect of the Justice Department, and that is what we aim to deliver."

"The danger posed by Mr. Das during this investigation was very real. He was committed to carrying out an attack against a military member," said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson, of the FBI's Baltimore Division. "Through our proactive investigative stance, we were able to ensure the citizens of Maryland were protected. The covert nature of the defendant's alleged actions is a stark reminder of the challenges we face in preventing attacks, and underscores the critical need for those with knowledge about terror plots to come forward."

Das was admitted to the United States in 1995 and is a legal permanent resident, according to court records.

An affidavit alleges that from Sept. 28, 2015, to early 2016, Das used social media to express his support for ISIL, including support for terrorist attacks in Paris, France and San Bernardino, California.

On Oct. 26, 2015, Das tweeted the name of an individual and the city where they lived, stating that the individual "aspires to kill Muslims." Das knew that the individual hoped to become a member of the U.S. military.

ISIL members and supporters have posted identifying information about U.S. military personnel in hopes that those inspired by ISIL would carry out attacks against them. The affidavit alleges that Das was advertising the individual’s identity and whereabouts in order to inspire violence against that individual.

Das tweeted a picture on Jan. 30 of an AK-47 assault rifle along with the text, "This is more than just a gun. This is a ticket to Jannah." Jannah is a reference to the Islamic concept of paradise.

"Mr. Das put out tweets on social media indicating that he supported ISIL and that he was pleased to see terrorist acts that took place overseas," Rosenstein said. "The FBI has a very difficult task to make sure on the one hand we don't want to violate people's constitutional rights, we want to respect their right of free speech.

"On the other hand if someone really does have a predisposition to go through with a terrorist attack we need to make sure that we intervene early enough to prevent that from happening."

Das attended a handgun qualification license class on April 30 at a firing range in Prince George’s County, according to the affidavit.

After the class, Das told another individual that he wanted to buy a Glock 9 mm handgun and an AK-47, according to the affadavit. Over the next five months, Das returned to the firing range to practice firing weapons and submitted his fingerprints to obtain a handgun permit.

During May 2016, Das met a confidential source working for the FBI. Das believed the source to be a like-minded supporter of ISIL. Das told the source on May 24 that he knew people overseas in Al Dawla (a common name for ISIL), and communicated with the Al Dawla members online.

Das told the source on July 23 that he wanted to kill a particular military member who lived in Prince George’s County and whose identifying information Das had obtained the year before from a list posted online by ISIL. Das said that he could get a firearm from an individual he knows and stated his desire to travel overseas for ISIL if he had the opportunity.

Das told the source on July 30 that he could no longer find the ISIL list from the year before and asked the source if he had any ISIL contacts who could resend the list.

According to the affidavit, on Aug. 19, even though Das had stated that he could acquire a firearm, the confidential source told Das that he could acquire weapons for both of them. In subsequent meetings with the confidential source, Das continued to state that he was looking for names of targets for them to kill.

In a meeting on Sept. 11, Das confirmed that he was committed "100 percent" to conducting an attack, saying, "That's, like, my goal in life." In a meeting the following day, Das stated that he wanted to get paid by ISIL for future killings, but would kill for free as well. Das further confirmed that he specifically wanted to target U.S. military personnel.

On Sept. 28, Das and the source drove from Maryland to a firearms store in Virginia, where Das purchased one box (50 rounds), of 9 mm ammunition and one box, or 50 rounds of, .40-caliber ammunition. At Das' request, that same day, the confidential source provided Das with the identifying information of a target, who the source claimed was a member of the U.S. military. The confidential source told Das he received the information from an ISIL contact in Iraq. In reality, the source provided false information on behalf of the FBI. Based on discussions with the source, Das also believed that the ISIL contact in Iraq would facilitate the payment of about $80,000 in exchange for Das and the source conducting the attack. After purchasing the ammunition, Das and the source traveled from the Virginia firearms store to the Maryland address of the target in order to conduct surveillance.

The affidavit alleges that on Sept. 30, while the confidential source was en route to pick up Das so they could conduct the attack, Das sent a text to the source that stated, "I'm ready." When the confidential source arrived at the home, Das loaded ammunition into the magazine of one of the two firearms previously acquired by the confidential source, with Das' knowledge and support. Das inserted the magazine into the firearm and loaded a bullet in the chamber. The firearms were then placed into the trunk of the vehicle.

Although Das believed that the firearms could fire ammunition, they had been rendered inert by the FBI. Das and the source then traveled to the address of the target, where Das exited the vehicle and approached the trunk, where the firearms were located. When Das was standing next to the trunk, FBI agents approached and Das ran away. Das was taken into custody by FBI agents a short distance away from the vehicle.

"He had a particular target in mind, he had the weapons, he had a plan for how the terrorist organization would benefit and would reward him for carrying out that plan and he was prepared to go through with it," Rosenstein said.